The American Bar Association’s Criminial Justice Section has released a new report on preventing wrongful convictions. The report, Achieving Justice: Freeing the Innocent, Convicting the Guilty, includes commentary and resolutions that addresses topics such as false confessions, eyewitness identification procedures, use of forensic evidence, jailhouse informants, and compensation for the wrongfully convicted.
The report is the result of a three-year ABA effort led by an ad hoc group of defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges, academics, and representatives from the forensic and law enforcement communities. The recommendations have since been adopted by the ABA House of Delegates, the organization’s policy-making body.
The ABA is the nation’s only entity representing prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges. The organization’s Criminal Justice Section drafts and seeks adoption of ABA policies to benefit its members, the criminal justice system, and the nation.
